When I began walking this pioneering path, I wrote my goal, “Control myself before desiring to dominate the universe.” This is my first motto. People normally wish to dominate the universe. When you stand at the crossroads of life or death from starvation, are you ready to die for your food or for your nation? Or are you ready to give your life for Heaven centered on the will of Heaven? This is the question. This is the dividing line between betrayer and Heaven’s victor. When you face this life or death situation, what will you give your life for
(The Ideal Spouse, February 4, 1969)

I am grateful to God for becoming a major controversial figure in the religious world. This is a hard path. We are not fighting against a visible enemy. I must win the invisible battle. It is very difficult. Do you agree with me? Have we ever protested against all the accusations that the media uses to attack the Unification church in Japan? I never allowed our church in Korea to offer apology or explanation to the media even though the Korean media has persecuted us for over a decade. Why? God has never apologized for the history of restoration. Has the Bible given excuses for history? Truth is eternal, and God is eternal. Whoever denies God is truly a miserable being. Therefore, to give such a miserable being your apology or explanation is not logical. If you are true, you don’t need to explain or apologize what you do. You will expand and progress despite being persecuted.
(The Standard of Ideal, April 27, 1969)

None of us was born for our own sake. Neither were we born for someone nor for a family. All of us were born for the world. Even though you are born as Japanese citizens, you were not born just for Japan, but for the world. If I were born for the sake of Korea, why then have I received persecution? If our Victory Over Communism movement is just for Korea, then why do we get persecuted? All people should have welcomed us. There would have been a lot of people falling in love with me, just seeing my face. Why do we receive persecution? Why do your own parents try to pull you back, saying that you caused the family problems? Who would hate us? Who would oppose us?
(Crossing and Turning Point, January 22, 1970)

You should shed blood and get persecuted. Even though you get persecuted more and more, you will never perish. I know the truth that we will be recognized as victors one day by history without a fight; I was able to start this movement. I spent my entire life risking my life for this battle. I thought I reached the last moment of my life dozens and dozens of times. However, looking back, I have not perished yet. Facing imminent death, in the very last moment, I determined to die centered on God. Then, unimaginable miracles would happen. This is how I have survived until now.

I never had even one friend. My parents opposed me. Even my brothers opposed me. Everyone was against me. In such lonely circumstances, I went on this path. Even today, I am all alone going this path. I have no one to turn to for advice. Of course, Mother is standing with me. However, I cannot turn to her for advice. She won’t understand. No one understands. She will follow me in whatever I decide, but in order to build up the world movement, I must find solutions by myself. I can’t rely on you. You are just driving the highway that I built. You have no idea what I am doing up ahead of you. That is where I stand today.
(God and Ourselves, May 6, 1972)

We do not have a nation. Thus I have been persecuted until now. We did not have a church foundation. Therefore, we were persecuted by the established churches. We did not have a tribal foundation, so we were attacked by many tribes and clans. We did not have a family foundation. Since we did not reach the family level foundation, many families attacked us. There was no environment for an individual to stand on. I came as an individual who stands on the side of goodness. Since I had this qualification from God’s standpoint, the satanic world attacked me, knowing I was the major figure to destroy the satanic world.

This is my lonely destiny. Under tremendous persecution on every level, I started to set a foundation as an individual and then moved up to the clan level foundation, and all the way to the world level foundation; this is how the Unification Church appeared as the new world-wide religious movement. Therefore, the internal and external power of the Unification church should not be inferior to all religions in the satanic world, including the Catholic Religion. Otherwise, if we are inferior, God’s dignity will be harmed.
(God and Ourselves, May 6, 1972)

The man standing at this podium has been persecuted over several decades in Korea. I have been ostracized from every field possible [political, media, academic, business etc.] from individuals, families, religions all the way up to national authorities.

However, I have never apologized for what I do. Why? This is because God, himself does not do so. I knew that God has had to sacrifice those who are closest to Him and that He has never given excuses and explanation for His action or looked for some reward in return. And I knew that I was too busy to waste any moments; and worked hard, without uttering any words, in order to become a person who can follow the ideal that God desires in His heart. I had no time to defend or respond to the noise that people around me were making. I have lived with this attitude throughout my life.
(Speech at “The Day of Hope” banquet in Tokyo, May 7, 1974)

Knowing this Principle, Rev. Moon of the Unification Church has been persecuted by the established churches for the last thirty years. Even though I have been hunted for 30 years, my confidence is not shaken at all. Despite this opposition, I came up and up the ladder. Any normal person would feel justified to retaliate; I do not pick a fight. I have been quiet for all these thirty years. If I was hit by the enemy more than was justified by the Principle, all the blessings will be shifted to God’s side and Abel’s side without question. Because of this Principle, the Unification Church will prosper as it is being persecuted. This is God’s strategy. Satan loses his world by attacking and hitting us. God’s side is opposite. By being hit, God’s side will restore everything. The path of God is absolutely opposite of Satan.
(The Realistic Indemnity and Our Mission, December 26, 1974)